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PENNSYLVANIA RECORD

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Man's shaking from medication doesn't constitute a disability, judge rules

Federal Court
Leeson

U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Leeson, Jr.

PHILADELPHIA – A man’s claims that his former employers violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it fired him because of his disabilities fell short in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Oct. 29.

Stephen Flynn sued eKidz Care Inc. and ePeople Healthcare after he was fired from his job roughly a month after being hired. He alleged he was a topic of negative conversation because his hands often shook and he typed loudly, which were side effects for a medication he was taking.

U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. dismissed the case. Leeson noted that in order for side effects of medication to be considered a disability as defined by the ADA, the medication has to be mandatory in the “prudent judgment of the medical profession,” and “there must be no available alternatives equally efficacious that lack the disabling side effects."

Leeson wrote Flynn’s lawsuit fails to point out that the seizure disorder was considered a disability under the ADA. Instead, he said that his seizure disorder never impacted his ability to fulfill his job requirements. He said he hadn’t had a seizure for roughly three years thanks to the medication he took.

The judge also noted Flynn also failed to allege that the medication was the reason for hand tremors and loud typing that he experienced. Leeson pointed out that loud typing doesn’t constitute a major life activity and there are no claims that Flynn’s hand tremors effected other parts of his life other than work. Considering this, his experiences don’t qualify as a disability.

“Although Flynn asserts in his brief in opposition to the motion to dismiss that defendants ‘regarded him’ as disabled, his allegations again fail to meet the definition of ‘disability’ under the ADA,” Leeson wrote.

To win, Flynn would have to prove that the employer perceived details about his limitations as a factor that explained why he wouldn’t be able to complete job duties. Flynn failed to do so.

Flynn didn’t first divulge his seizure condition when he was first hired with eKidz Care, Inc. and ePeople Healthcare in March 2018. But shortly after he was brought on board, his colleagues noticed that his hands often shook and he typed loud. 

The Office Manager told Flynn daily that they didn’t “need anyone in his position,” according to the opinion. Flynn did issue an apology to his colleagues for his behavior but noted that it was a side effect to the medication he was taking to control his seizure disorder. 

Still, the negative chatter didn’t stop, and he was fired on April 9, 2018. Defendants claimed that he was terminated because he “hated his job” and that he was “actively job searching,” but the opinion stated this was false.

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